Two Doral police officers suing owners of Martini Bar after deadly shooting
MIAMI - Two Doral police officers have filed a lawsuit against the owners of a popular nightspot and a private security company after a shooting last April left a security guard dead and one of the officers severely injured.
Officers Andre Romo and Richard Acevedo were patrolling CityPlace on off-duty detail on the morning of April 6th, when a fight broke out around 3:30 a.m. in the patio area of the Martini Bar.
When security guard George Alejandro Castellanos tried to intervene, 37-year-old Jamal Wayne Wood reportedly pulled a gun. He then began shooting at the bar's patrons. Castellanos was killed and seven others were injured, including Acevedo who was shot in the leg.
Castellanos, 23, was just weeks away from graduating with his bachelor's degree.
Wood was killed during a shootout with police.
In the lawsuit, the officers claim Castellanos was recently hired and had not undergone proper safety training, which could have prevented the incident. They also maintain that the nightclub's owners had a responsibility to protect their patrons by searching them for weapons before they entered.
The lawsuit alleges that Martini Bar, along with the security company Castellanos worked for, CityPlace Doral and the property management company were negligent, saying that Martini Bar: "…owed a non-delegable duty to business invitees and others lawfully at the subject premises to take reasonable crowd control and take reasonable measures to prevent and/or de-escalate mass panic…"
"I almost didn't make it home to my wife and kids over a completely preventable incident and simple safety measures," said Romo in a statement.
"Had appropriate safety measures been in place, the lives of those present, including Officers Romo and Acevedo, would not have been put in peril," said attorney Bernardo Pimentel, with Leesfield & Partners, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the officers.
"These officers could've very easily lost their lives the same way unfortunately others did that night."
"They could've patted down, they could've wanded with a metal detector, any security measures that could've found or detected a weapon on the patrons entering the establishment,"
Pimentel argues that although his clients are police officers, they still should've been protected.
"Just because they wear a badge, it does not give them a cloak of armor. While I can agree that officers and law enforcement all choose the job that they've chosen, that doesn't mean that business establishments can put them in the line of fire when it could be all together avoided," said Pimentel.
Pimentel says his clients want monetary damages, as well as, accountability from Martini Bar and the other defendants listed in the suit.
Officer Romo, providing this statement, saying, "I almost didn't make it home to my wife and kids over a completely preventable incident and simple safety measures."
Officer Acevedo also released a statement, saying, "While our duty as police officers is to protect and serve, our own lives need to be protected as well. I feel extremely lucky to be alive"
CBS News Miami reached out to Martini Bar, CityPlace Doral and the property management company named in the lawsuit and have not yet heard back.
We also reached out to the security company listed in the suit, and we were told they cannot comment at this time.
Castellanos' family has also filed a lawsuit against the club's owners.